


give and take

by _gncds (taeilcoat)



Series: when spring arrives [4]
Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, M/M, as usual the only romantic pairing is daeyoon but have a little bit of bongbeom and dongchan, it's not kinky or rated either dw, kind of jangjun-centric again, rating changed cause of light swearing, the summary sounds a little bit dramatic but i promise you it's not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeilcoat/pseuds/_gncds
Summary: But rules are rules and all those involved are punished – including Lee Jangjun.
Relationships: Bong Jaehyun/Kim Jibeom, Choi Sungyoon | Y/Lee Daeyeol, Hong Joochan/Kim Donghyun
Series: when spring arrives [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620949
Comments: 3
Kudos: 67





	give and take

**Author's Note:**

> Jangjun is 15, Youngtaek and Seungmin are 14, 99z are 13 and Bomin is 12. Basically takes place in the same year as growing pains, but the order you read them in isn't important. If you'd like to put them into a timeline though, maybe think of growing pains as events that happened over summer break.
> 
> Also I know I'm writing a lot of Jangjun in this series lately, but he's Daeyoon's first child so there are a lot of firsts going on (•ɞ•) Hope you guys enjoy nonetheless!

“Lee Jangjun, are you going to fill out the confession or not?” Jangjun doesn’t say anything, continuing to stare out of the window at the slowly darkening sky. His hands are pushed into his trouser pockets and he stretches his legs out and crosses them over each other, sighing deeply through his nose. His teacher frowns, slamming his ruler on the desk in front of him. “Lee Jangjun!”

Jangjun doesn’t flinch.

He didn’t do anything wrong.

This time Mr. Kang sighs, getting up from his seat while removing his glasses. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he makes his way over and sits on the desk beside the one Jangjun’s sitting at. “Your brothers are waiting outside and it’s getting late. At the very least, fill out the form so we can all go home.”

At the mention of his brothers, Jangjun finally reacts, turning his head to look at the blank form in front of him. He looks at his teacher and then past him at the four heads peeking into the room, worry written all over their expressions. “I have nothing to confess.”

“Appa!” They hear from outside of the classroom and a moment later, Daeyeol appears at the door. Looking over his shoulder, Mr. Kang gets up to greet him and Daeyeol bows in response. “I’m sorry to have to call you in so late, Daeyeol-ssi,” Mr. Kang starts, shaking Daeyeol’s outstretched hand. “But Jangjun isn’t cooperating.”

“Not at all, I was on the way home from work anyway. May I ask what happened?”

The ‘official’ version of the story is this: Jibeom and Donghyun are out on the field, sitting under a tree while enjoying their lunch. Sungyoon had packed them some leftovers from the night before and made some fresh egg rolls with ham and cheese inside and the two can only talk about how good Sungyoon’s egg rolls are and how they’ll never move out because of Sungyoon’s cooking. Jaehyun and Joochan have gone to buy them all snacks to eat after their lunch because Joochan can’t live without his flavoured milk and Jaehyun just likes snacking on bread all the time.

But they’re taking an awfully long time and buying snacks never takes _this_ long.

Youngtaek comes sprinting around the corner, screaming for Donghyun and Jibeom to _get up! Hurry up, Jangjun hyung is going to get in a fight!_ and takes off again only after his brothers are hot on his heels, racing towards the school shop where they see it.

Jaehyun’s on the ground covered in both his and Joochan’s choice of flavoured milk for that day (banana and strawberry, of course) and while both Jaehyun and Joochan look relatively unharmed, it’s Jangjun that has everyone’s attention, his hands balled into fists while towering over his juniors with a straight face. There’s someone on the floor in front of him holding onto his shoulder and Donghyun recognises him as that asshole, Seo Taejun, from class 1-B who liked to poke fun at him and his brothers for being part of a weird family. Usually the boys paid no mind to him because he was easy enough to ignore. All bark and no bite, so why is today different?

The ‘official’ version tells the story of Jangjun being the first one to do something drastic: shoving Taejun to the ground after arguing with him, apparently hurting his shoulder. No one says anything about Taejun’s friends being the one to push Jaehyun over first, or of how Jangjun lets Taejun touch him first. No one talks about how Jangjun gets the cut on his upper cheek, or even about the bruise forming on Joochan’s foot, because it’s easier to keep quiet in the moment.

But everyone knows the official version isn’t true, even Mr. Kang knows.

As strange as their family is, everyone knows Lee Jangjun. He’s the happy-go-lucky, cute senior who has too many brothers with different last names. He’s the one who knows everyone, who gets along with students and teachers alike and the one who’s won a stack of medals for the school while competing in athletic events. He’s the one who’s loud, funny and sometimes clumsy, the one who likes to play pranks and tells jokes at the top of his lungs, but also the one who’s always genuine with his words and never breaks a promise.

But rules are rules and all those involved are punished – including Lee Jangjun.

He gets off lighter than the others involved when some people start coming forward with their versions of what they saw. Some are scared of Taejun, others more want to vouch for Jangjun’s innocence, and the rest are objective about the situation.

But Jangjun really doesn’t care about any of that.

That little shit hurt his brothers.

Daeyeol hums, glancing down at his eldest son for a moment, frowning at the band-aid on his cheek before turning his attention back to his teacher. “Mr. Kang, would it be alright for you to dismiss him for now and let us talk to him at home? It’s getting late and I’m sure you’re a busy man.”

Mr. Kang sighs for the nth time that afternoon, pushing his glasses up his nose. “It’s possible, but he won’t be able to attend classes unless he fills out the confession. The school will keep him in the office under in-school suspension if the form isn’t filled out by Monday.”

“I understand that,” Daeyeol replies, taking a moment to check his watch for the time. He puts a hand on Jangjun’s shoulder, gives it a gentle squeeze and then Jangjun moves to sit straighter. “We’ll let the school do what it needs to do after the weekend, but for now I think it’s best for us to talk with him alone.”

Another sigh. “Alright. Please talk to him, and Jangjun?” Mr. Kang calls, watching as his student looks up at him for the first time that afternoon, his face still expressionless. Giving him a tight-lipped smile, Mr. Kang only nods at him. “Please think about that confession. You’re dismissed.”

Jangjun stands, takes his hands out of his pocket and gives Mr. Kang a bow, mumbling something along the lines of a ‘thank you’ and then he’s following Daeyeol out the door with the confession form in hand. His brothers scramble to get up, with Donghyun holding onto his bag and Jangjun only sighs in front of them, holding his hand out for his bag.

The ride home is unusually quiet. Daeyeol has to cram the four boys into the back of his sedan while Jangjun takes the passenger seat and Donghyun usually has something to say about someone in the back seat by now, either because they’re sitting strange, or they smell, or maybe they’re taking up too much space. Daeyeol can’t pull his seat any further forward because of his height, but Jangjun does to help them out a bit and in the back seat the boys exchange worried glances.

Of course, Sungyoon doesn’t yell at them the minute they walk through the door. Instead, he ushers them to the dining table to eat, because the last meal his boys would have had was lunch and he’s sure they’re hungry. He’s already heard Youngtaek’s version of the story and eventually he’ll ask for everyone else’s, but for now he settles for making sure the boys have enough to eat, before offering Daeyeol the option to have dinner in his office so they can talk between themselves first.

The boys don’t say a word after their parents leave and instead, glance around at each other awkwardly and then at their oldest brother who hasn’t smiled at all since the incident. For the first time, they’re finding out a new side of Jangjun and without saying anything, the boys can all agree on one thing: Jangjun is _really_ scary when he’s mad.

Jangjun is also the first one to finish eating, making his brothers jump when he pushes his chair back to stand up. He cleans up on his own and in that time, Jibeom, Jaehyun, Joochan and Donghyun quickly lean in to talk in hushed whispers.

“You have to start it cause you’re the oldest.” Jibeom whispers to Jaehyun, who frowns.

“You’re a month younger than me! You only pull the age card when we’re doing stuff like this.”

Jibeom shrugs. “Still the oldest.”

“Joochan, you do it. Orders from the top,” Jaehyun whispers in a rush glancing over his shoulder at their brother’s back. “Quick, he’s finishing up.”

“Why me?!”

“You’re the youngest.” Donghyun points out and Joochan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath through his nose. “If anyone should do it, it should be–”

Jangjun turns the tap off and the boys go quiet again, quickly settling back into their seats to continue eating like nothing happened. They eye each other while Jangjun moves around the kitchen, with Jibeom nudging Joochan’s foot under the table while Donghyun keeps his head down, and then Joochan and Jaehyun are suddenly locked in a staring contest, trying to get each other to talk first.

“Hurry up, he’s about to leave!” Donghyun whispers urgently, nudging the youngest's arm with his elbow.

“Hyung!” Joochan calls hastily, a little too loud and too stiff to be natural, but it doesn’t seem like Jangjun’s noticed when he pauses and looks to the boys at the table.

Joochan fidgets a bit, looking at the others for support and Jibeom almost wants to laugh because really, Hong Joochan never runs out of words. “Just… thank you for today. Sorry for getting you in trouble.”

Jaehyun nods earnestly. “You were really cool, hyung.”

And for the first time since that afternoon, the corners of Jangjun’s lips curl up into a small smile and the tension drains from the boys’ shoulders. Jangjun definitely looked better when he's smiling. “Let me know if he bothers you again,” Jangjun says, rolling his shoulders back. “I’ll teach him a proper lesson then.”

“If you get expelled, Dad will be the one to teach _you_ a lesson.” Donghyun warns before he can stop himself, coughing when Joochan elbows him in the ribs _hard_. Jangjun chuckles. “I won’t let it get to that, don’t worry. I’m going to shower.”

Then he’s gone and the boys only start to speak again when they hear his footsteps going upstairs, all of them exploding at once while talking over each other. “Really, Jaehyun? _You were really cool_? That’s all you have to say about the situation?” Jibeom teases, his eyes widening comically when Jaehyun tries to swipe at his food in retaliation.

“I didn’t hear _you_ say anything!”

“Hong Joochan! Why the _hell_ did you have to hit me that hard?!” Donghyun almost yells, resisting the urge to throw his spoon at him. “That bloody hurt!”

“You had to choose _that_ time to nag at him? Newsflash: that wasn’t the time to nag!”

“Are you boys having fun?” Sungyoon chuckles, walking past the dining table to set the tray of dishes down in the kitchen. Almost at once, the boys are quiet again as they look at each other and then at their dad.

Jaehyun stands, quickly finishing up his food to join Sungyoon at the sink. “Dad,” he calls, taking his place in front of the sink to wash the dishes before Sungyoon could. “Is Jangjun hyung in trouble? He didn’t even start the whole thing.”

“All he did was stand there, really.” Joochan adds, putting more food into his bowl now that his nerves are gone. Jibeom and Donghyun look at each other and then grin, helping pile more food into Joochan’s bowl until it’s almost overflowing with food. “Hey!”

“He’s not in trouble. We’re not mad at him,” Sungyoon confirms, patting Jaehyun’s butt in thanks as he turns to put the already dry dishes away. “But are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Remember to put your uniform in the laundry, I’ll wash it for you tonight.”

“I’m okay,” Jaehyun says, nodding to show Sungyoon he’s listening about his uniform. “They stepped on Joochan’s foot though.”

“I’m okay!” Joochan says through a mouthful of food and Donghyun frowns, pushing his chair back to stand up while telling him to eat properly. “At least I don’t bruise easily.” Joochan mumbles after swallowing, narrowing his eyes at Donghyun. The elder’s eyes widen in realisation and he pulls his shirt up to examine the spot where Joochan had elbowed him earlier.

“Ah! That’s right! I’m going to bruise because of you!”

"Excuse me, don't expose yourself in front of the food!" Jibeom exclaims, shielding his eyes from the sight of Donghyun's bare stomach. Jaehyun snorts at Jibeom's reaction and Joochan just rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you learn how to read the room then!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Finish up and then go and rest,” Sungyoon chuckles, filling the kettle with some water as the boys fall quiet. “I’m about to fry up some hotteok, so come down later if you want any.” He gets a chorus of _okays_ when he turns to check on his dough and he smiles a little. Donghyun turns away from Joochan with a huff and goes to wash his dishes while Jibeom quietly snickers behind his hand. Jaehyun only shakes his head with a sigh and leaves to get his uniform.

It actually takes Daeyeol and Sungyoon a lot longer to talk to Jangjun than he initially thought. They wait until Saturday evening to call him into the office after dinner and by then he’s already back to his bright and bubbly self, smiling when he enters the office and takes a seat in the chair beside Sungyoon.

“How are you feeling?” Sungyoon asks, reaching out to stroke Jangjun’s cheek with the back of his hand. His brows raise in amusement at the new band-aid Jangjun’s put on, one of Seungmin’s Marvel print ones, and then his hand drops to rest on his thigh.

Jangjun hums, putting his hand over Sungyoon’s. “I’m better now. I’m sorry for worrying you, Dad.” He turns to Daeyeol and gives him a more sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Appa, thank you for coming to get us.”

“You’ve done so well though, as the oldest,” Sungyoon starts, while Daeyeol only nods in acknowledgement. “Thank you for protecting your brothers.”

“I think if you heard what he was saying about them, you’d smack him too,” Jangjun says with a light laugh and Sungyoon hides his smile behind his hand. “I mean, it still makes me angry, but I can’t change anything about the situation now.”

Daeyeol hums, leaning forward to fold his arms over his desk. The confession form sits in front of him and it’s quiet for a moment as he mulls over his thoughts, thinking of what to say to their son. He’s already talked to Jaehyun, Joochan and Youngtaek and he really has no reason to doubt Jangjun because he’s always so open about his life with everyone.

“What will you do about the confession?” he finally asks, lifting his head to look at Jangjun. “We know you were protecting your brothers and you weren’t the first one to strike, but officially you’ve still caused him some pain.”

Jangjun sighs. “I don’t know yet.”

“You have to put something down. You can’t be in suspension for the rest of the year, you’re a senior.” It’s almost like he’s stating an innocent fact with the way Sungyoon says that, but Jangjun knows his Dad well enough, knowing that laced between those words are signs of a warning he doesn’t really have to say directly.

He nods in agreement but really, he still doesn’t know what to write. Maybe he’ll confess to just pushing him over because that’s what happened, after all. Or maybe he’d confess to intimidating him. That also happened, but that kid was the one who forced his way into Jangjun’s personal space first. Without him knowing, his expression darkens and his initial innocent staring-at-the-table-while-thinking turns into him glaring at the table for no reason.

They say you can’t choose family, but Jangjun would always choose this one, no matter how many lifetimes he had. How dare he even say those things about his brothers? They were lucky enough to have the family they did, with parents who loved them as much as they did. Where Daeyeol and Sungyoon got their endless patience from, Jangjun would never know, but they had always raised him and his brothers as their own, despite some of them being problem children when they first arrived.

Violence is never the answer, Jangjun knows that. Sungyoon’s also drilled it into them time and time again. He’s not the kind of person who automatically goes to violence whenever a problem arises, but he had such an urge to punch that smug look off of that kid’s face– what was his name again? Taehee? Taejin?

Whatever. He swears he’ll pummel the little shit into the ground if he or his friends even _breathe_ in their direction.

Sungyoon shares a look with Daeyeol before squeezing Jangjun’s thigh, bringing him back to their conversation. Jangjun blinks a few times and his eyes brighten again, pulling his lips back into a pleasant smile. “You don’t have to write it now,” Daeyeol says, looking back at the form. Exhaling from his nose, he closes his eyes for a moment to rub them, thinking of how much the kids really took after Sungyoon sometimes. No one should ever have to change moods that fast. “You still have tomorrow and we trust you’ll write it eventually, but don’t write anything that’ll get you into any more trouble. Show us before you hand it in.”

“Mm, okay,” he agrees, standing up from his seat. Taking the form from Daeyeol’s outstretched hand, he smiles and reaches out to pick some dust out of Sungyoon’s hair. “I’ll show you when I think of something.” And then he’s slipping out of the door, automatically joining the rest of his brothers in the living room to watch them play Overcooked.

Daeyeol chuckles and leans back in his chair, looking at Sungyoon with a loving smile. “They’re really growing up on their own now.”

“Don’t,” Sungyoon says, frowning childishly at his husband. He stands up and makes a face, pausing at the door to listen to them yell at each other for a moment and then he smiles a little, resting his hand on the doorknob. “Want to join them?” He asks, looking back at Daeyeol who only stands up with a slight smirk.

“I wouldn’t want to make them cry.”

“As if you could win a game with them at this age.” Sungyoon laughs, stepping outside. Daeyeol only raises his brows and follows him out.

Well, he’ll show them.

When Jangjun submits his confession the following Monday before class, it takes a moment for the words to register with Mr. Kang before he’s chuckling to himself and nodding. “Okay, this will do. Thank you, Jangjun, I’ll see you in class.”

Jangjun grins and dashes off, loudly yelling after his friends in the hallway and then loudly apologising for running in the hallway. From inside the office, the teachers only look at each other with a knowing look and shake their heads while Mr. Kang smiles to himself, lowering himself back into his seat.

_I, Lee Jangjun, only confess to protecting my family at school._

_P.S. Thank you, Mr. Kang!_ _♡_


End file.
